Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post- Honor World

In this groundbreaking book, Akbar Ahmed, one of the world's leading authorities on Islam, who has worked in the Muslim world but lives in the West, explains what is going wrong in his society by referring to Islamic history and beliefs. Employing theological and anthropological perspectives, he attempts to answer the questions that people in the West are asking about Islam: "Why do they hate us?" "Is Islam compatible with democracy?" "Does Islam subjugate women?" "Does the Quran preach violence?" These important questions are of relevance to Muslims and to non-Muslims alike. Islam Under Siege points out the need for, and provides the route to, the dialogue of civilizations.

September 11, 2001, underlined the role of Islam in our time. In its demographic spread, its political span, and its religious commitment, Islam will be an increasingly forceful presence on the world stage in the twenty-first century. While some scholars predict that there will be a clash of civilizations, others see a need for a dialogue of civilizations.

This book will help students, scholars of politics, sociology, international relations, and cultural studies, and reporters as well as a more general audience interested in some of the most important issues of our time.

Examines the role of Islam in the 21st century and its
increasingly forceful presence on the world stage.

Written by a Muslim and leading social scientist (who has
worked in the Muslim world but lives in the West), the book
explains what is going wrong in society by referring to Islamic
history and beliefs.

"Above all, this is a courageous book. Ahmed uses his knowledge of
the Koran and anthropology to confront his co-religionists with
uncomfortable truths about women, honour, social cohesion and
leadership at a time when Islam is confronting all major world
religions"

Times Higher Education Supplement

"In my view there surely cannot be a more relevant book ... one
of the most distinguished Muslim scholars today, Professor Akbar
Ahmed offers us a clear vision that has the potential to unite us
in common action and purpose. It is one of the most hopeful books
as well as one of the most challenging I have read in recent
years."

Washington Times

"Ahmed paints a frightening picture of a world reverting to a
more primitive state. This is an honest attempt to describe the
problems Muslims face. without absolving them entirely from blame.
Western readers should reciprocate in kind."

Karen Armstrong, Modern Asian Studies

"This new book is written in a language that is understood in
the West and is readily accessible...Ahmed explains convincingly
the moral collapse of societies in what he calls our "Post-Honor
World"..."

Houston Chronicle

"Bold and provocative, its penetrating cultural analysis will
challenge Muslims and Westerners, demanding a more sophisticated
consideration of what is occurring in the world"

Christian Science Monitor

"Ahmed's book is an immense contribution to understanding a
contemporary, dangerous world. No course on contemporary Islam or
global studies should be deemed complete without this work. Both
the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds owe Ahmed a great debt for this
piece of honest, hard-hitting scholarship."

Islamic Studies

"It is rare to find a book this is so theoretically
sophisticated and yet to readable ... It is a book that one can
give to a friend or neighbor who wants to make sense of Islam and
the world today as well as assign to graduate students in Islamic
Studies and political science ... If there is a better book about
our post-9/11 world, this reviewer has not yet seen it. Hopefully,
it will receive the widest possible readership."

Middle East Journal

"Islam Under Siege should be required reading for policy
makers in Washington, Europe and the Islamic World. It deserves to
be translated into all of the major languages of the Middle East
and South Asia."

Middle East Policy

"It is a pleasure to read Ahmed's Islam Under Siege. One
need not agree with every sentence and every phrase of any author.
But if the author has been honest to his profession and made
readers think, his contribution is seminal. Ahmed succeeds in doing
precisely that."

Seminar (New Delhi)

"This is the most important book to date on life in the post
9/11 world. Islam Under Siege goes beyond assigning guilt,
to understanding the world that has produced such hatred and
misunderstanding. In this sometimes personal and consistently
courageous meditation on the uncertainties of our time, Akbar Ahmed
offers hope by focusing on shared notions of honor and human
dignity.”

Tamara Sonn,American Council for the Study of
Islamic Societies

“Akbar Ahmed is one of the wisest and bravest writers on
Islam. This work confirms his reputation as a savant in the
field.”

Chris Rojek, Nottingham Trent University

“Akbar Ahmed’s understanding of the relationship
between politics and culture sets him apart from other analysts of
contemporary Islam.”

Louis W. Goodman, American University

"Islam Under Siege is an honorable quest to capture and
analyze the dishonorable conduct of human society in a post honor
world. Just like an alarm clock that rings in your head it forces
you to wake up from the pretentious slumber we are so used to. In
fact this book keeps you awake long after you are done reading
it."

Instructors

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